National Bank

Giving back to the community

National Bank—the leading bank in Quebec and
the sixth-largest in Canada—has been a partner of the JGH Foundation since
1988, contributing to the health and well-being of the entire community through
its longstanding support of the Jewish General Hospital and its mission of
providing continued excellence in patient care, research and teaching.

“At National Bank,
the client is at the very heart of all of our activities," says Karen Leggett,
Executive Vice-President – Marketing. “For us, being close to our clients also
means being actively involved in the community and contributing to its
development and well-being. Every year, we join forces with
hundreds of organizations to help the communities we serve find solutions to
the challenges they face, through a well-defined donation and sponsorship
program, successful fundraising efforts, and teams of current and retired
employee volunteers who are determined to make a difference."

This year, within the framework of the You Have
the Power to Heal campaign, National Bank further demonstrated and enhanced its
unwavering commitment to creating the greatest possible value for the
communities where it is present across Quebec and beyond, by making a generous
and insightful donation of $2 million toward establishing a Molecular Pathology
Centre (MPC) at the JGH.

The MPC will propel the JGH to the
forefront of a new era of personalized medicine, which allows treatment to be
targeted to a specific individual. “The MPC is eagerly awaited by the entire
JGH community," says Myer Bick, President and CEO of the JGH Foundation. “When it opens in fall 2013, it will be the
first facility of its kind in
Quebec
dedicated to next-generation diagnosis and individualized therapies for
cancer and, in the near future, neurological and cardiovascular diseases." “It will position
Quebec among a small group of international
leaders in personalized medicine," adds Dr. Alan Spatz, Director of the JGH
Department of Pathology. “Even more importantly, it will enable Montrealers and
Quebecers to reap the benefits of this new, cutting-edge form of medicine. These
major advantages include the ability to identify individuals at increased risk
of suffering from certain cancers before they appear, to evaluate and predict the
response to therapy, and to select and develop targeted treatments that are
more effective and less likely to produce adverse reactions in a given patient.
The future holds great promise and we will make a huge difference for our
patients and their loved ones, thanks to the support of deeply committed
partners such as National Bank."

“The Molecular Pathology Centre stands out through
its focus on innovation and excellence, values which reflect National Bank's
own culture," says Mrs. Leggett. “Considering the prevalence of cancer and
cardiovascular diseases, we are proud to participate in the development of a
centre which will save and extend thousands of lives by matching therapy to
each patient, and increasing knowledge about these diseases through innovative
research." “The MPC will become an invaluable resource for the whole
community," concurs Mr. Bick. “The entire JGH family is grateful for this
life-affirming gift and we are looking forward to pursuing our fruitful
partnership with National Bank for the benefit of all the communities we
serve."